“HâdirNâzir”,

Omnipresence
of the Prophet

sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam,

[(He
is) the Knower of the Unseen and He reveals unto none His secret,

save unto every
Messenger whom He has chosen]
(72:26-27)

[Nor
does he withhold grudgingly a knowledge of the Unseen](81:24)

Hadara hudûran wa
hadâratan: diddu ghâba…

wahuwa hâdirun min
huddarin wa hudûrin.

“To be present
(hadara)… is the opposite of being
absent…

said of the attendee
(hâdir) among other attendees.”

Al-Fayruzabadi,
al-Qamus al-Muhit.

Ibn Khafif al-Shirazi said in his
al-‘Aqida al-Sahiha (§48):

[The Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, ]
is knower of what is and what shall be and he gave news of the Unseen
(wa [ya‘taqidu] annahu al-‘âlimu bimâ
kâna wa mâ yakûnu wa akhbara ‘an ‘ilmi al-ghayb).

Meaning, in the sense of being
imparted by Allah whatever He imparted to him. Our teacher the
FaqîhShaykhAdibKallas said: “Note that
Ibn Khafif did not say ‘He knows all that is and all that shall
be.’”

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Hadi Kharsa told
us:

The
Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, possesses
knowledge of all that is and knows the created universes in the same way that
one knows a room in which one sits. Nothing is hidden from him. There are two
verses of the Holy Qur’an that affirm this,
[But how (will it be with them)
when we bring of every people a witness, and We bring you (O Muhammad) a witness
against these]
(4:41) and
[Thus We have ap­pointed you a
middle nation, that you may be witnesses against man­kind and that the messenger
may be a witness against you]
(2:143) nor can the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, be called to witness over what he does
not know nor see

The above evidence is confirmed
by the authentic Prophetic narration from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri in the
Sahih,
Sunan, and
Masanid:

The
Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, said:
“Nuh and his Community shall come <also: ‘shall be brought’> and Allah Most High
shall say: ‘Did you convey [My Mes­sage]?’ He shall say, ‘Yes, indeed! my Lord.’
Then He shall ask his Com­munity, ‘Did he convey [My Message] to you?’ and they
shall say, ‘No, no Prophet came to us.’ Then Allah shall ask Nuh, ‘Who is your
witness?’ and he shall reply, ‘Muhammad, sall-Allahu `alayhi
wa sallam, and his Community.’ Then
we shall bear witness that he conveyed [the Message] indeed, and this is [the
meaning of] His saying,
[Thus We have ap­pointed you a
middle nation (ummatan wasatan),
that you may be witnesses against man­kind]
(2:143), al-wasat meaning ‘the
upright’ (al-‘adl).”[2]

Ibn Hajar
in his commentary of the above narration in
Fath al-Bari said that another
same-chained, similar narration in Ahmad and Ibn Majah shows that such
witnessing applies to all the Communities and not just that of Nuh,`alayhis
salaam:

The Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, said: “One Prophet shall come on the Day
of Resurrection with a single man [as his Community]; another Prophet shall come
with two men; others, with more. The nation of each Prophet shall be summoned
and asked, ‘Did this Prophet convey [the Message] to you?’ They shall reply, no.
Then he shall be asked, ‘Did you convey [the Message] to your people?’ and he
shall reply, yes. Then he shall be asked, ‘Who is your witness?’ and he shall
reply, ‘Muhammad and his Com­munity.’ Whereupon
Muhammad and his Community shall be sum­moned and asked, ‘Did
this man convey [the Message] to his people?’ They shall reply, yes. They shall
be asked, ‘How do you know?’ They shall reply, ‘Our Prophet came to us and told
us that the Messengers have indeed conveyed [the Message].’ This is [the meaning
of] His say­ing,
[Thus We have appointed you a
middle nation]
– He means upright (yaqûlu ‘adlan) –
[that you may be witnesses
against man­kind and that the messenger may be a witness against you]
(2:143).”

Al-Qari
said in commentary of the narration of Nuh, `alayhis salaam, cited in
Mishkat al-Masabih:

“And he shall reply, ‘Muhammad and his Community’” means that his
Community are witnesses while he vouches for them, but his men­tion came first
out of reverence (li-t-ta‘zîm). It is
possible that he, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, too witnesses for Nuh, since it is a
context of help and Allah Most High said
[When Allah made (His) convenant
with the Prophets]
until He said
[you shall believe in him and you
shall help him]
(3:81). In this there is a remarkable warning that the Prophet, sall-Allahu
`alayhi wa sallam, is present and
witnessing in that Greatest Inspection
(wafîhi tanbîhun nabîhun annahu sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallama hâdirun nâzirun
fî dhâlika al-‘ardi al-akbar), when the Prophets are brought, Nuh being the
first, and the latter’s witnesses are brought, namely, this Community.[3]

There are
other verses that affirm that the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, hears and sees the deeds of human
beings. Allah Most High said:
[And know that the Mes­senger of
Allah is among you]
(49:7). In the verses
[Allah and His Messenger will see
your conduct]
(9:94) and
[Act! Allah will behold your
actions, and (so will) His Messenger and the believers]
(9:105), the Pro­phet’s, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, percep­tion is put on a par with that of
the Lord of the worlds Who sees and encom­passes all on the one hand and, on the
other, that of all the living believers.

Shaykh
‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Ghumari said:

The saying of Allah Most High
[O you who believe! Observe your
duty to Allah, and give up what remains (due to you) from usury, if you are (in
truth) believers. And if you do not, them be war­ned of war (against you) from
Allah and His Messenger](2:278-279) indicates that the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam,
is alive in his noble grave,
fighting the usurers with his supplication against them or with whatever suits
his isthmus-life. I do not know anyone that inferred this from the verse before
me.[4]

The above is further confirmed
in the Sunna by the following evidence:

(1)Ibn Mas‘ud’s authentic narration of the Prophet’s,
sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, witnessing
of all the deeds of the Umma from his
Barzakh:

The
Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, said:
“My life is a great good for you, you will relate about me and it will be
related to you, and my death is a great good for you, your actions will be
exhibited to me, and if I see good­ness I will praise Allah, and if I see evil I
will ask forgiveness of Him for you.”
(Hayâtî khayrun lakum tuhaddithûna wa yuhad­dathu lakum wa wafâtî khayrun lakum
tu‘radu a‘malukum ‘alayya famâ ra’aytu min khayrin hamidtu Allâha wa mâ ra’aytu
min shar­rin istagh­fartu Allâha lakum.)[5]

The Prophet, sall-Allahu
`alayhi wa sallam, said: “My Lord
came to me in the best form” – the narrator said: “I think he said: ‘in my
sleep’” – “and asked me over what did the Higher Assembly
(al-mala’ al-a‘lâ)[6]
vie; I said I did not know, so He put His hand between my shoulders, and I felt
its coolness in my innermost, and knowledge of all things between the East and
the West came to me.”[7]

(3)The staying back of Sayyidina Gibril, `alayhis salaam,
at the point the Pro­phet,
sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, went
beyond the Lote-Tree of the Farthermost Boundary
(sidrat al-muntaha) and heard the
screeching of the pens writing the Foreor­dained Decree then saw his Lord,[8]
although Gibril is the closest of all crea­tures to Allah
U and the angels do see Him according to
Ahl-al-Sunna.[9]

Al-Qadi ‘Iyad in
al-Shifa, in the section titled
“Concerning the places where it is desirable to in­voke blessings and peace upon
him” cited from ‘Amribn Dinar al-Athram (d. 126) the explanation
of the verse
[when you enter houses salute one
another]
(24:61): “If there is no-one in the house then say: ‘as-salâmu
‘alâ al-Nabiyyi wa rahmatullâhi wa barakâtuh.’”[10]

Al-Qari said in his commentary
on al-Shifa’: “Meaning, because his
soul, sall-Allahu
`alayhi wa sallam, is present
in the house of the Muslims (ay li’anna
rûhahu ‘alayhi al-salâmu hâdirun fî buyûti al-muslimîn).”[11]

What ‘Iyad cited from al-Athram
is only narrated by al-Tabari in his
Tafsir from
Ibn Jurayj, from ‘Ata’ al-Khurasani (d. 135):

Hajjaj
narrated to me from
Ibn Jurayj: I said to ‘Ata’: “What if there is no-one in the
house?” He said: “Give salâm! Say,
al-salâmu ‘alâ al-Nabiyyi wa rahmatullâhi
wa barakâtuh, al-salâmu ‘alaynâ wa ‘alâ ‘ibâdillah al-sâlihîn, al-salâmu ‘alâ
ahli al-bayti wa rahmatullâh.” I said: “This statement you just said about
my entering the house in which there is no-one, from whom did you receive it?”
He replied: “I heard it without receiving it from anyone in particular.”[12]

A Deobandi's False Assertion against
Mullah
Ali al-Qari

Recently, a Deobandi writer
forwarded the strange claim that al-Qari’s text in
Sharh al-Shifa’ actually stated, “NOT
THAT his soul, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, is present in the houses of the Muslims”
(lâ anna rûhahu hâdiratun fî buyûti
al-muslimîn) that is, the diametrical opposite of what al-Qari actually
said!:

He
[al-Qari] discussed the issue in the
Sharh of Shifa, that
lâ anna rûhahu hâdiratun fî buyûti
al-muslimîn i.e. this notion is incorrect that the soul of our
MasterHazratMohammed, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam,
is present in the homes of the
Muslims. In some copies the word lâ
has been dropped and has with­out any reason created confusion for some
individuals, including Mufti Ahmed Yar Khan sahib (see
Jaa al-Haqq p. 142). ... In all his
explicit quotes Hazrat Mulla Ali al-Qari himself negates the belief of
hâdir wa nâzir. Those who have relied
on his brief, indistinct quotes (out of context) are absolutely and definitely
wrong.[15]

That one can actually dare to
make the above claim is only because of ignorance of the Arabic language since
al-Qari prefaces the statement with the word “meaning
(ay),” which would be grammatically
incorrect if it were followed by a disclaimer such as “not that his soul is
present in the houses of the Muslims.” The truth is that no such word as
lâ has been dropped because there was
no such word there in the first place, and the claim that there was is nothing
short of tampering (tahrîf).
Furthermore, the word al-Qari used for “present” is
hâdir in the masculine, not
hâdiratun in the feminine, as
rûh can have either gender but the
masculine is more appropriate here to refer to the Prophet, sall-Allahu
`alayhi wa sallam, .

A Deobandi's Denial of Prophetic Attributes

Another one of those of the
same School considered by some to be knowledgeable objected to attributing the
characteristics of hâdir nâzir to the
Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, because,
he claimed, these attributes belong to Allah
U. Even if the latter premise were true, the reasoning is spurious and is
like saying that because al-Ra’ûf and
al-Rahîm are Divine Attributes, they
cannot be also Prophetic Attributes. This sophistry was refuted by al-Qadi ‘Iyad
in al-Shifa where he said:

Know that
Allah has bestowed a mark of honor on many of the Prophets by investing them
with some of His names: for example He calls Ishaq and Isma‘il “knowing”
(‘alîm) and “forbearing”
(halîm), Ibrahim “for­bearing”
(halîm), Nuh “thankful”
(shakûr), Musa “noble”
(karîm) and “strong”
(qawî), Yusuf “a knowing guardian”
(hafîz, ‘alîm), Ayyub “patient”
(sabûr), ‘Isa and Yahya “devoted”
(barr), and Isma‘il “truthful to the
promise” (sâdiq al-wa‘d)... Yet He
has preferred our
Prophet
Muhammad, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam,
since He has adorned him with a
wealth of His names in His Mighty Book and on the tongue of His Prophets.[16]

The above
evidence establishes beyond doubt that there is no impediment to the possibility
of hâdir nâzir to be Attributes
shared by Allah Most High with some of His servants if such two Names should be
established to be His. In fact, it is known that the two angel-scribes, the
qarîn, the angel of death, and
Shaytan, are also present, seeing, hearing, and fully wit­nessing the deeds of
human beings at any given time.

Furthermore, are Hâdir and
Nâzir among the Divine Names and
Attributes?
Imam
Ahmad al-Sirhindi was quoted to say: “Allah
Most High is aware of each and every minor and major condition and is
Hâdir and
Nâzir. One should feel shame before
Him.”[17

However, the Divine Attributes
are ordained and non-inferable.[18]
Logic, reasoning, analogy, and other forms of interpretation are not used to
infer an attribute but only Divine disclosure through the primary two sources of
the Shari‘a i.e. Qur’an and Sunna.
This is an elementary point of doctrine that is present in most if not all books
of ‘aqîda, including the Maturidi
classics. So we cannot speak of al-Hâdir,
while al-Nâzir is the same as
al-Shahîd where the divine Sight
means His Knowledge. Imam al-Bayhaqi said

:

The
meaning of “The Witness” (al-Shahîd)
is He Who is well aware of all that creatures can know only by way of witnessing
while being present. . . because a human being who is far away is subject to the
limitation and shortcomings of his sensory organs, while Allah Most High is not
endowed with sensory organs nor subject to the limita­tions of those who possess
them.[19]
(Shâhid is also a Prophetic Name in
the Qur’an.)

As for
al-Hâdir it is precluded, because
Hâdir in Arabic has the sense of a
being physically present at a location, i.e. attributes of the created that are
abso­lutely precluded from the Creator. Therefore
Hâdir in relation to Allah Most High,
like the attribute of omnipresence, may only be applied figura­tively to mean
that He is All-Knowledgeable, but neither “Omnipresent” nor
Hâdir have actually been reported or
mentioned among the Divine Attributes in the Qur’an, the Sunna, and the texts of
the early Imams. Allah knows best

.

When some of these rebuttals
were presented to the above-mentioned objector, he replied verbatim, that “By
Haazir and
Naazir, we mean Allah’s knowledge is
complete and comprehensive. Nothing is hidden from the abso­lute knowledge of
Allah. In other words, he is Aleem and this quality of Allah is repeatedly
mentioned in the
Qur’aan.” By thus replying he has acknowledged that:

1.He used the Attributes
Hâdir and
Nâzir figuratively, to mean
‘Alîm.

2.He has done so on the basis of his own interpretation of
the former two terms as meaning the latter term, neither (a) on linguistic bases
nor (b) according to a Law-based stipulation
(nass shar‘î).

To return to the statement of
ShaykhAhmadSirhindi – Allah sanctify his soul – that
“[He] is Hâdir and
Nâzir,” there are also caveats:

1. Isolated statements cannot be used to invalidate a basic
rule of Ahl al-Sunna in the Divine
Names and Attributes, namely that spelled above as found in the doctrine of the
Salaf and
Khalaf on
al-Asmâ’ wa al-Sifât.

2. In practical terms, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi was careful to
frame his statement within an affirmation of the sincere
murîd’s consciousness of the
all-encompassing nature of Divine Knowledge within the ladder of spiritual
process in the Naqshbandi Tarîqa,
just as the Shuyukh of the Shadhili
Tarîqa teach their
murîds to say, “Allâhu
hâdirî, Allâhu nâziri, Allâhu ma‘î.” These expressions are meant to induce
scrupulous Godwariness and in fact all refer to the attributes of Divine
Knowledge without any resemblance whatsoever to the
hudûr or
nazâr of created beings other than in
name.

3. In doctrinal terms,
ShaykhAhmadSirhindi means something other than what those
who use hâdir in the Arabic language
and in relation to the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, mean. Namely, he means
hâdir not in the normal creatural
sense of “present” but in the non-creatural sense of “Divine Knowledge of Things
in their Essence” (al-‘ilm al-hudûrî).
This is explained by him at length in his epistle 48 of Volume Three to the
Prince, Zadah Khwaja Muhammad Sa‘id, titled “The Secret of His Nearness and the
Self-Disclosure of His Essence.” This is a highly peculiar, specialized sense
that should be treated thus unless one is interested in making Shaykh Sirhindi
say other than what he means.

4. Some of our contemporaries – who are known by the title
of Mufti – inno­vatively use the same phrase in terms of a stipulation of
‘Aqîda, giving rise to le­gitimate
doubt as to what they mean by their use of the phrase, a doubt for­tified by
their adding made-up provisions or conditions such as “Hâdir
and Nâzir cannot be applied to anyone
besides Allah.” By saying this they have invalidated the
sine qua non pre-requisites of the
judge for receiving wit­nesses to any and all cases that require witnesses.
Rather, they mean to say, “cannot be applied to anyone besides Allah in the
sense they are applied to Allah” while they can be applied to others besides
Allah in the sense that applies to creatures.

5. Those who use
Hâdir and Nâzir in relation to
the Best of Creatures, our Master
Muhammad, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, , mean it in
the creatural sense of his noble soul or noble essence being physically and
spiritually present wherever Allah Most High wishes. One who denies that the
Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, can
be present in that sense, has left Islam.

6. None of what the opponents bring up as supposed proofs
actually invali­dates the use of Hâdir
and Nâzir for the Prophet,
sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, among
other shared Names as we have already demonstrated. For example, Allah Most High
is Ra’ûf and
Rahîm, and He is
Nûr, and He is al-Shâhid – the
Witness – and al-Shahîd – the Giver of testimony – all five attributes being
also given by Him in His Own Pre-Eternal Speech – the Qur’an – to the Prophet
himself, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, .

7. If it comes to scholarly quotations, they should accept
that the attributes of Hâdir and
Nâzir are applied to the Prophet,
sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, by
the Ulema of Ahl al-Sunna such as
Mulla Ali al-Qari as cited above, and countless others such as the Friends of
Allah known to keep company with the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam,
day and night, among them Shaykh Abu
al-‘Abbas al-Mursi, Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili, and Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz
al-Dabbagh, probably also Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi himself – may Allah sanctify
their secrets.

Ibn al-Qayyim said in
al-Ruh:

This is a
subject about which men are troubled. There are those who say, “The sciences,
all of them, are latent in the soul, and only its occupation with the world of
sensation prevents its examination of them; so, if it is detached in sleep, it
see some of them in accordance with its preparation; and when its detachment by
death is more perfect, its sciences and its experiential knowledges there are
more perfect.” This statement has in it both what is right and what is
groundless; not all of it is to be rejected and not all of it is to be accepted.
For the detachment of the soul informs it of the sciences and experiential
knowledges which are not received without detachment. But if it should be
detached altogether, it would not be informed of the knowledge of Allah with
which His Messenger was sent, and of the details of what He told by past
messengers and peoples that are gone; and details of the Return and regulations
of the Hour and details of command and prohibition, and Divine Names and
Attributes and Acts, etc., that are not known except by Revelation; although the
detachment of the soul is an aid to it for knowledge of that, and the drawing of
it from its source is easier and nearer and greater than what is given to the
soul engaged in the labors of the body.[20]

Another objection was raised
and disseminated on a website titled, “The Belief that the Prophet Comes to the
Milad Meeting” with the following text:

Some people
also believe that Rasulullah, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, comes to this
function and due to this belief, they stand up in respect and veneration. This
is absolutely untrue. Rasulullah, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, does not
arrive at any “Eid-e-Milad-un Nabee,” function. He is in his Rawdha-e-Mubarak
(grave) at
MadinahMunawwarah and will emerge from it at the
onset of Yawmul-Qiyaamah, or the Day of Judgement. … The following Ayat and
Hadith testify to this fact: The Qur’an, addressing Rasulullah, sall-Allahu
`alayhi wa sallam, announces
explicitly:
[Lo! Thou wilt die, and Lo! They
will die. Then Lo! On the day of resurrection, before your sustainer, you will
dispute].
[Az-Zumar 39:30-31] At another place, Rasulullah, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa
sallam, is addressed together with
the rest of mankind: -
[Then Lo! After that you surely
die, then Lo! On the day of resurrection you are raised (again)]
[Al-Muminun
23:16] Rasulullah, sall-Allahu
`alayhi wa sallam, himself has said
in a Hadith: - “My grave will be the first to be opened on the day of Qiyamah
and I shall be the first person to intercede and the first person whose
intercession shall be accepted.” These Ayat and Hadith as well (and there are
others) prove that all of mankind will be raised from their graves on the day of
Qiyamah, with Rasulullah, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, being no exception. On this, there is
consensus of the entire Ummah.[21]

The Reply of Ahl as-Sunna wal-Jama`at

The reply is: Does this Mufti
have knowledge of the unseen and the gift of ubiquity? For he positively affirms
that the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, (1) is not present at a given Mawlid
function and (2) is not possibly present at any place other than in Madina, in
his grave! So then, he allows that the other Prophets can be in Bayt al-Maqdis
praying, and in Makka making tawâf,
and in the Seven Heavens, but he insists that our Prophet – upon him and them
blessings and peace – is confined to his Noble Grave?

Yet testimonies from the great
Awliyâ’ and
Sâlihîn of this Umma have flown
uninterruptedly for a thousand years to the effect that the Prophet,
sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, was
and continues to be seen by countless pure eyes in countless different
lo­cations. Read the fatwa to that effect in Shaykh al-Islam al-Haytami’s
Fatawa Hadithiyya (p. 297), entitled:
“Ques­tion: Can the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, be seen in a wakeful state?” The answer
is yes, and if he is seen, then he is present. There is no need to ask “how”.
Sayyid
AhmadZayniDahlan said in his book
al-Usul li al-Wusul ila Ma‘rifat Allah wa
al-Rasul, that when the walî is
said to see the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, “in a waking state”
(yaqazatan), “it means that he sees
only the spiritual form (rûhaniyya)
of the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, , not his physical form.”
But our Shaykh, Sidi Mustafa al-Basir commented on this: “Is there any
impediment to seeing him in his physical form, or to his coming to a place in
his physical form?” and Shah Waliyyullah al-Dihlawi said in his book
Fuyud al-Rahman (p. 116-118) that the
presence of the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, in the office of imam at every prayer
“is a fact” and that “the noble Rûh
of the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, is similar to a physical body.” Many
valuable pages were recorded from the dis­closures of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz
al-Dabbagh on this issue by his student ‘Ali ibn
al-Mubarak in al-Ibriz

Yes, we do know with positive
knowledge that he is in al-Madina al-Munawwara – but in the state of
Barzakh. That state, by the decree of
Allah Most High, is governed by laws other than phenomenal laws of time and
place.
Imam
Malik said in the
Muwatta’: “It has reached me [i.e.
from the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, with an authentic chain as is well-known
concerning Malik’s balâghât] that the
souls [of the dead] are free to come and go as they please.” Further readings
about this can be found in Sayyid Mu­ham­mad ‘Alawi al-Maliki’s
Manhaj al-Salaf,[22]Kitab al-Ruh by Ibn al-Qayyim, or
al-Tadhkira by al-Qurtubi.

Furthermore, there is an
Islamic rule of law (qâ‘ida)
that says, al-ithbâtu muqaddamun ‘ala
al-nafy meaning: “Affirmation takes precedence over denial”; and another one
that states, man ‘alima hujjatun ‘alâ man
lam ya‘lam, meaning: “The one who knows is a conclusive proof against the
one who does not know.” Even in the matter of a simple hadith narration there
are things we know and things we do not know, as that Mufti is eminently aware

.

As for the verses and hadith
quoted by the objector to the effect that the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa
sallam, will die and be raised, the
quoter himself concludes, “These Ayat and Hadith as well (and there are others)
prove that all of mankind will be raised from their graves on the day of
Qiyamah, with Rasulullah, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, being no exception. On this, there is
consensus of the entire Ummah.” This is like the Arabic saying, “I spoke to him
in the East and he answered me in the West.” There is no question about the
fundamental tenet of Resurrection in Islam, and such evidence is irrelevant to
the specific matters of (1) seeing the Pro­phet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa
sallam, present in a wakeful state
or (2) his presence in the gatherings of the
Sâlihîn in
Dunyâ and
Âkhira nor should it have been
brought up in this fatwa. So this purported evidence is true, and so is the rest
of the evidence that we have adduced in affirmation of the Prophet’s,
sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, presence
with the Umma and full awareness of their states, including the saying of Allah
Most High:
[And know that the Messenger of
Allah is among you]
(49:7). Meaning, according to the majority of the commentaries: Do not lie.

Standing for the Prophet sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam

The following are quoted from
Sayyid Muhammad ibn ‘Alawi al-Maliki’s commentary on this issue from his book on
Mawlid titled Hawl al-Ihtifal bi Dhikra
al-Mawlid al-Nabawi al-Sharif (“Regarding the Celebration of the Prophet’s
Birthday”) which was translated and cited in Shaykh Hisham Kabbani’s
Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine
(3:45-48):

Some of
those who forbid standing for the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, do so be­cause of what they imagine
people to believe when standing and invok­ing blessings on him: namely, that the
Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, is
actually present in person at that time. However, this is not the reason why the
people stand and no-one claims this except those who actually object to
standing. Rather, those who stand are only expressing happiness and love, and
they are overflowing with respect and dedication at the mention of the Prophet,
sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, in
the
august assembly of those who
remember him. They stand to attention because of their awe before the light that
dawns upon creation for the one whose fame Allah Most High has exalted high.
They stand as a sign of thankfulness for the immense mercy bestowed on creation
in the person of the
Prophet
Muhammad, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam,
.

At the
same time it is impermissible to object to the freedom of the soul in
Barzakh to travel wherever it pleases
by Divine permission, according to the sayings reported by Ibn al-Qayyim in his
book Kitab al-Ruh (p. 144) whereby
Salman al-Farisi said: “The souls of the believers are in an isthmus of land
from where they go wherever they wish,” and Imam Malik said: “I have heard
(balaghanî) that the soul is set free
and goes wherever it wishes.”[23]

Standing or dancing out of joy for the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa
sallam, , or for what is connected to him or proceeds from him, has clear
proofs in the Sunna.

Here the Shaykh lists a long
list of the well-known authentic proof-texts to that effect. Then he concludes:

There is
no doubt that such singing, dancing, reciting of poetry, and banging the drum
was for joy at being with the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, ,
nor did he con­demn or frown upon such displays in any way whatsoever. These are
com­mon displays of happiness and lawful merriment, and similarly to stand up at
the mention of the birth of the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, is an ordinary act that shows love and
gladness symbolizing the joy of creation: it does not constitute worship, nor
law, nor Sunna! That is why the savant al-Barzanji (d.1103) said in his famous
poem of Mawlid:

wa qad sanna ahlu al-‘ilmi wa al-fadli wa
al-tuqâ

qiyâman ‘alâ al-aqdâmi ma‘a husni im‘âni

bi tashkhîsi dhâti al-mustafâ wa huwa
hâdirun

bi ay maqâmin fîhi yudhkaru bal dânî

Meaning:
“It is the usage of the excellent people of knowledge and piety to stand on
their feet in the best demeanor // acting as if the Prophet, sall-Allahu
`alayhi wa sallam, were actually
present every time they mention him and even visualizing him coming to them.”

Observe
that he spoke well when he said, “acting as if he were present and visualizing
him,” that is, strongly calling to mind his gra­cious form and qualities so as
to increase and perfect the motions of their hearts and bodies towards
respecting and loving him, as the nar­rations show. This is a delicate matter
from which are shut out those in whose hearts Allah did not place mercy. And
Allah knows best.”[24]

Among
those who wrote poetry mentioning standing at the mention of the Prophet,
sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, are
the hadith master
AbuMusa al-Asbahani (d. 581) who recited:

qiyâmî wa al-‘azîzi ilayka haqqun

wa tarku al-haqqi mâ lâ yastaqîmu

fa hal ahadun lahu ‘aqlun wa lubbun wa
ma‘rifa

yarâka fa lâ yaqûmu?

Meaning:
“I swear by the All-Powerful that my standing for you [O Prophet] is right and
true and to leave truth and right is to embrace error. // I ask: can anyone
possessed of a mind and a heart and knowledge, upon seeing you, not stand up?”

Imam al-Nawawi mentioned it in
his famous fatwa titled al-Tarkhis fi
al-Ikram bi al-Qiyam li Dhawi al-Fadl wa al-Maziyya min Ahl al-Islam ‘ala Jihat
al-Birr wa al-Tawqir wa al-Ihtiram la ‘ala Jihat al-Riya’ wa al-I‘zam (“The
Permissibility of Honoring, by Standing up, Those Who Possess Ex­cellence and
Distinction among the People of Islam: in the Spirit of Piety, Reverence, and
Respect, not in the Spirit of Display and Aggrandize­ment”).[25]

Another poet to recommend
standing for the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, was
Yahyaibn Yusuf ibn Yahya al-Sarsari (588-656).
Al-Dhahabi described him in glowing terms in
Tarikh al-Islam:

The
erudite Shaykh, the ascetic, Jamal al-Din Abu Zakari­yya al-Sarsari al-Baghdadi
al-Hanbali al-Darir, the philologist, man of letters, poet, and author of the
Prophetic panegyrics that are known East and West…. He kept company with Shaykh
‘Aliibn Idris, the companion of Shaykh ‘Abd
al-Qadir [al-Gilani]. He heard from a num­ber of narrators and narrated hadith….
We heard that when the Tatars came to him – and he was blind – he stabbed one of
them with his walking-stick and killed him then was killed as a
shahîd.

Al-Dhahabi goes on to quote a panegyric of thirty-five verses in each of which
al-Sarsari used all of the Arabic alphabet.[26]
Al-Dhahabi’s student, Ibn al-Subki, narrated in his
Tabaqat al-Shafi‘iyya al-Kubra about
his father, Shaykh al-Islam al-Taqi al-Subki:

One time he attended a khatma
in the Umawi Mosque, the judges and eminent people of the region before him as
he sat in the mihrâb of the Sahaba.
The reciter declaimed al-Sarsari’s Prophetic pa­ne­gyric be­ginning,
qalîlun li-mad-hil-Mustafâ-l-khattu
bidh-dhahabi (“Too slight for the praise of the Elect One is gold
calligraphy”). When he reached the line
wa’an yanhada-l-ashrâfu ‘inda samâ‘ihi (“And that the elite stand when they
hear of him”), emotion overcame the Shaykh and Imam [my father] so that he
sprang to his feet and stood due to that state. The people considered they all
had to stand also, which they did, and an ex­cellent moment ensued.[27]

The conclusion of those endowed
with sense is that the presence of the Noble
Rûhâniyya of the Prophet,
sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, at
pious gatherings and with whatever select individuals of the Umma Allah Most
High wishes, is a ghaybî matter which
is outside the province of anyone other than the Lawgiver to declare
po­si­tively impossible. In actuality, mass-transmitted
(mutawâtir) testimony proves beyond
doubt that such presence is a re­ality. Its modality is unknown while its
description is a matter of spiritual experience
(dhawq) we pray to be granted. If
not, we ask to receive that share of adab
that will ensure proper custody of the tongue lest we slip and fall into error
that will cause us shame tomorrow, in his venerable presence, sall-Allahu
`alayhi wa sallam, . And Allah knows best.

NOTES

[1]This Appendix complements the material
adduced in the section titled “The Prophet’s Knowledge of the Unseen” in the
third volume of
ShaykhHishamKabbani’s
Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine.

[2]Narrated by al-Bukhari with three
chains, al-Tirmidhi (hasan sahîh),
and
Ahmad.

[5]Narrated from Ibn Mas‘ud by al-Bazzar
in his Musnad (1:397) with a
sound chain as stated by al-Suyuti in
Manahil al-Safa (p. 31 #8) and
al-Khasa’is al-Kubra (2:281), al-Haythami (9:24 #91), and al-‘Iraqi in
Tarh al-Tathrib (3:297) – his
last book, as opposed to al-Mughni‘an
Haml al-Asfar (4:148) where he questions the trustworthy rank of one of
the narrators in al-Bazzar’s chain. Shaykh ‘Abd Allah al-Talidi said in his
Tahdhib al-Khasa’is al-Kubra (p.
458-459 #694) that this chain is sound according to Muslim’s criterion, and
Shaykh Mahmud Mamduh in Raf‘al-Minara
(p. 156-169) discusses it at length and declares it sound. Their shaykh,
al-Sayyid ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Siddiq al-Ghumari (d.
1413/1993) declared it sound in his monograph
Nihaya al-Amal fi Sharh wa TashihHadith
‘Ard al-A‘mal. Opposing these six or more judgments al-Albani declares
it weak in his notes on al-Qadi Isma‘il’s
Fadl al-Salat (p. 37 n. 1). It is
also nar­rated with weak chains from Anas and – with two sound
mursal chains missing the
Companion-link – from the Succes­sor Bakr ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Muzani by
Isma‘il al-Qadi (d. 282) in his Fadl
al-Salat ‘ala al-Nabi (SAWS) (p. 36-39 #25-26). The latter chain was
declared sound by al-Qari in Sharh
al-Shifa’ (1:102), Shaykh
al-Islam al-Taqi al-Subki in
Shifa’ al-Siqam, his critic Ibn ‘Abd al-Hadi in
al-Sarim al-Munki (p. 217), and
al-Albani in his Silsila Da‘ifa
(2:405). A third, weak chain is related from Bakr al-Muzani by al-Harith ibn
Abi Usama (d. 282) in his Musnad
(2:884) as per Ibn Hajar in
al-Matalib al-‘Aliya (4:23) and Ibn Sa‘d in his
Tabaqat as per al-Munawi in
Fayd al-Qadir (3:401 #3771).
Al-Qadi ‘Iyadcites it in
al-Shifa (p. 58 #6) and
al-Sakhawi in al-Qawl al-Badi‘.
Al-Albani declared the hadith weak on the grounds that some authorities
questioned the memo­rization of the
Murji’ hadith master ‘Abd al-Majid ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azizibn Abi Rawwad. However, he was retained
by Muslim in his Sahih and
declared thiqa by Yahya ibn
Ma‘in, Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Nasa’i, Ibn Shahin, al-Khalili, and
al-Daraqutni, while al-Dhahabi listed him in
Man Tukullima Fihi Wa Huwa
Mu­waththaq (p. 124) as stated by Mamduh in
Raf‘ al-Minara (p. 163, 167).
Al-Arna’ut and Ma‘ruf declare him
thiqa in Tahrir al-Taqrib
(2:379 #4160) as well as Dr. Nur al-Din ‘Itr in his edition of al-Dhahabi’s
Mughni (1:571 #3793) and Dr.
Khaldun al-Ahdab in Zawa’id Tarikh
Baghdad (10:464). Even if al-Albani’s grad­ing were hypo­thetically
accepted, then the weak musnad
narra­tion in conjunction with the sound
mursal one – graded
sahîh by al-Albani – would yield
a final grading of hasan or
sahîh, not
da‘îf. In addition to this,
Mamduh quoted al-Albani’s own words in the latter’s attempted refu­tation of
Shaykh Isma‘il al-Ansari entitled
Kitab al-Shaybani (1:134-135) whereby “The sound
mursal hadith is a proof in all
Four Schools and other than them among the Imams of the principles of hadith
and fiqh, therefore it is
apparent to every fair-minded person that the position whereby such a hadith
does not form a proof only because it is
mursal, is untenable.” This is
one of many examples in which al-Albani not only contradicts, but soundly
refutes himself.

Shaykh Hasanayn Muhammad Makhluf wrote in his
Fatawa Shar‘iyya (1:91-92): “The
hadith means that the Prophet (SAWS) is a great good for his Community
during his life, because Allah the Exalted has preserved the Community,
through the secret of the Prophet’s (SAWS) presence, from misguidance,
confusion, and disagreement, and He has guided the people through the
Prophet (SAWS) to the manifest truth; and that after Allah took back the
Prophet (SAWS), our connection to the latter’s goodness continues uncut and
the ex­tension of his goodness endures, overshadowing us. The deeds of the
Community are shown to him every day, and he glorifies Allah for the
goodness that he finds, while he asks for His forgiveness for the small
sins, and the alleviation of His punishment for the grave ones: and this is
a tremendous good for us. There is therefore ‘goodness for the Community in
his life, and in his death, goodness for the Community.’ Moreover, as has
been established in the hadith, the Prophet (SAWS) is alive in his grave
with a special ‘isthmus-life’ stronger than the lives of the martyrs which
the Qur’an spoke of in more than one verse. The nature of these two kinds of
life can­not be known except by their Bestower, the Glorious, the Exalted.
He is able to do all things. His showing the Community’s deeds to the
Prophet (SAWS) as an honorific gift for him and his Community is entirely
possible rationally and documented in the reports. There is no leeway for
its denial; and Allah guides to His light whomever He pleases; and Allah
knows best.”

[6]I.e.
“the angels brought near” according to Ibn al-Athir in
al-Nihaya and others.

[7]Narrated by al-Tirmidhi with three
chains: two from Ibn ‘Abbas – in the first of which he said “the knowledge
of all things in the heaven and the earth” while he graded the second
hasan gharîb – and one chain from
Mu‘adh (hasan sahîh) which
explicitly mentions that this took place in the Prophet’s (SAWS) sleep.
Al-Bukhari declared the latter chain
hasan sahîh as reported by al-Tirmidhi in both his
Sunan and
‘Ilal, and it towers over all
other chains, according to
Ibn Hajar in
al-Isaba (2:397), in the facts that there is no discrepancy over it
among the hadith scholars and its text is undis­puted (cf.
Asma’ Hashidi ed. 2:78). Also
narrated by Ahmad with four sound chains according to the typically lax
grading of Shakir and al-Zayn: one from Ibn ‘Abbas with the words “I think
he said: ‘in my sleep’” (Shakir ed. 3:458 #3484=al-Arna’ut ed. 5:437-442
#3483 isnâduhu da‘îf); one from
Mu‘adh which Ahmad explicitly declared
sahîh as narrated by Ibn ‘Adi in
al-Kamil (6:2244), with the
words: “I woke up and lo! I was with my Lord” (al-Zayn ed. 16:200 #22008);
and two from unnamed Compan­ions in which no mention is made of the
Prophet’s (SAWS) sleep or wakefulness (al-Zayn ed. 13:93-94
#16574=al-Arna’ut ed. 27:171-174 #16621
isnâduhu da‘îf mudtarib; al-Zayn
ed. 16:556 #23103). Al-Haythami declared the latter sound as well as other
chains cited by al-Tabarani in
al-Kabir (20:109 #216, 20:141 #290) and al-Bazzar in his
Musnad, and he declared fair the
chain narrated from Abu Umama by al-Tabarani in
al-Kabir (8:290 #8117). See
Majma‘ al-Zawa’id (7:176-179).
Shaykhs ‘Abd al-Qadir and Shu‘ayb al-Arna’ut both declared
sahîh the seven narrations of
al-Tirmidhi and
Ahmad in their edition of Ibn al-Qayyim’s
Zad al-Ma‘ad (3:33-34
n. 4). Also narrated from
Jabiribn Samura by
Ibn Abi ‘Asim in
al-Sunna (p. 203 #465) with a fair chain according to al-Albani. Also
narrated from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘A’ish by al-Darimi in his
Musnad (2:170 #2149) and
al-Tabarani through two chains in
al-Ahad wa al-Mathani (5:48-50
#2585-2586) and another in Musnad
al-Shamiyyin (1:339 #597), and from Umm al-Tufayl by al-Tabarani in
al-Ahad (6:158 #3385). The latter
chain actually states: “I saw my Lord in the best form of a beardless young
man” and was rejected by al-Dhahabi in
Tahdhib al-Mawdu‘at (p. 22 #22).
Also narrated from the Companion Abu Rafi‘ [al-Isaba
7:134 #9875] by al-Tabarani in
al-Kabir (1:317 #938). Also narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas by Abu Ya‘la in his
Musnad (4:475 #2608). Some fair
narrations of this hadith – such as al-Tabarani’s from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn
‘Ayyash and al-Khatib’s from Abu ‘Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah in
Tarikh Baghdad (8:151) – have the
words: “I saw my Lord” instead of “My Lord came to me,” hence
Ibn Kathir’s conclusion previously cited. Al-Ahdab in
Zawa’id Tarikh Baghdad
(6:251-253) and al-Haytami also cited Abu ‘Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, Ibn ‘Umar,
AbuHurayra, Anas, Thawban, and
AbuUmama which brings to at least eleven
(without Umm al-Tufayl) the number of Companions who narrated this hadith.
The various chains and narrations of this hadith were collated and discussed
by Ibn Rajab in his monograph
Ikhtiyar al-Awla fi Sharh Hadith Ikhtisam al-Mala’ al-A‘la, ed. Jasim
al-Dawsari (Kuwait: Dar al-Aqsa, 1406). See also:
Ibn Athir,
Jami‘
al-Usul (9:548-550). Among those that considered this hadith as falling
below the grade of sahîh are
al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat
(Kawthari ed. p. 300, Hashidi ed. 2:72-79), Ibn al-Jawzi in
al-‘Ilal al-Mutanahiya (1:34),
Ibn Khuzayma in al-Tawhid (p.
214-221) and al-Daraqutni in his
‘Ilal (6:56). Al-Saqqaf went so far as to suggest that it was forged in
Aqwal al-Huffaz al-Manthura li Bayan
Wad‘ HadithRa’aytu
Rabbi fi Ahsani Sura, appended to his edition of Ibn al-Jawzi’s
Daf‘ Shubah al-Tashbih.

[9]See Abu al-Shaykh,
al-‘Azama and al-Suyuti,
al-Haba’ik. This leads to the
issue of the precedence and preferability of the Prophet (SAWS) over all
creation and his title Afdalu
al-Khalq which is documented elsewhere.